Prison officers discover construction of tunnel built by gang members seeking to escape Brazilian jail

Jail cops thwarted a massive escape after discovering the construction of a tunnel at prison in Brazil on Monday morning.

The underground passageway was found under a vegetable garden at the Vicente Piragibe Penal Institute in the Rio de Janeiro westside neighborhood of Bangu, the Penitentiary Administration Secretariat said.

Prison officers unearthed the 32-foot-long tunnel after receiving a tip that members of the Comando Vermelho gang were searching for access to the sewage system and flee.

Four detainees were found inside the tunnel and removed. 

Guards at the Piragibe Penal Institute in the Rio de Janeiro, Brazil discovered the construction of a tunnel on Monday

At least 14 inmates, all members of the Comando Vermelho, one of the most powerful gangs in Brazil, were transferred from the Vicente Piragibe Penal Institute after guards discovered the construction of a tunnel under a vegetable garden

Investigators believe that inmates may have started the excavation two or three months ago and it was never completed.

The prisoners were drug dealers who were already convicted and serving their sentence in a semi-open regime in which they are allowed to hold jobs and must return to their cells at the end of the day

'All those being involved are being identified and will be isolated,' Penitentiary Administration Secretariat secretary, Maria Nebel, said.

Authorities said that the escape attempt was inspired by the escape of 31 prisoners from the Vicente Piragibe Penal Institute in April 2013.

The Penitentiary Administration Secretariat said that inmates were inspired by the 2013 escape of 31 prisoners at the Piragibe Penal Institute in the Rio de Janeiro and sought to do the same while constructing a new tunnel in the same facility before authorities discovered it Monday

The inmates were only able to dig through 32 feet under the jail's vegetable garden while constructing a tunnel that was going to be used by drug dealers to flee

Five detainees who fled were directly involved with the construction of the new tunnel.

TV Globo reported that 14 inmates were transferred to the Bangu Penitentiary, a maximum-security facility.

The Penitentiary Administration Secretariat said that efforts were already underway to improve the surveillance and inspection at Vicente Piragibe Penal Institute.

The prison is currently holding four of the Comando Vermelho's senior leaders who oversaw the organization's operations in Rio de Janeiro.